Current:Home > ContactSpaceX to launch 22 Starlink satellites today. How to watch the Falcon 9 liftoff. -WealthSphere Pro
SpaceX to launch 22 Starlink satellites today. How to watch the Falcon 9 liftoff.
View
Date:2025-04-14 18:23:57
Look up, Florida.
SpaceX teams in the Sunshine State are on track to launch a Falcon 9 rocket with another batch of the company's Starlink internet satellites on Friday night.
Liftoff of the 230-foot rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is slated for 6:39 p.m. EDT, with the launch window last until 10:15 p.m.
If liftoff goes as planned it will mark the Space Coast's 52nd launch this year.
Live Space Team launch coverage updates will be posted here at Florida Today, part of the USA TODAY Network, starting 90 minutes before the launch window opens.
SpaceX's broadcast will be hosted on X about five minutes before liftoff, and the viewing will be posted at the top of this page.
When is the SpaceX rocket launch?
The first opportunity to launch the Starlink 6-19 mission is at 6:39 p.m. EDT Friday night, during a nearly four-hour launch window with three additional opportunities through 10:15 p.m.
Is New York City sinking?NASA finds metropolitan area slowly submerging
What's the weather forecast for today's SpaceX rocket launch?
Weather conditions for the Starlink 6-19 mission, according to the Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, are expected to be poor. Forecasters last projected a 40% chance of "go" conditions through the launch window.
Besides a primary concern of clouds and rain associated with thunderstorms, forecasters also listed the threat of lightning as a concern.
Recovery conditions for a booster landing aboard a drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas were listed as "low risk."
Will a shutdown affect my flight?What to know about air travel if Congress doesn't act.
Here's what else to know about today's launch:
- Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 will host.
- The payload is the company's next batch of Starlink internet-beaming satellites.
- The 230-foot Falcon 9 rocket will follow a southeasterly trajectory threading between Florida and the Bahamas.
- If it launches on time, it will mark the Space Coast's 52nd launch this year.
- No local sonic booms with this mission. The 130-foot first-stage booster will target a drone ship landing about eight minutes after liftoff.
- This will mark the 10th flight of the first stage booster.
Three other launches are also slated to take place in Florida this year.
Here they are:
October 6: ULA Project Kuiper Protoflight
- Company / Agency: United Launch Alliance
- Rocket: ULA Atlas V
- Location: Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: Opens at 2 p.m. EDT
- Trajectory: East
- Weather: TBD
- Landing: None; Atlas V is expendable
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
- About: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will launch KuiperSat-1 and 2, the first pair of prototype satellites for Amazon's Project Kuiper broadband system − a planned constellation of over 3,000 satellites that will deliver global internet service connectivity. The satellites will serve as a testbed to inform future design, deployment and operational plans ahead of a full-scale deployment beginning in 2024.
October 12: SpaceX Psyche
- Company / Agency: SpaceX for NASA
- Rocket: SpaceX Falcon Heavy
- Location: Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center
- Launch Time: 10:16 a.m. EDT
- Trajectory: East
- Weather: TBD
- Landing: Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
- About: SpaceX will launch a triple-core Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with NASA's Psyche spacecraft that's designed to study a metal asteroid orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.
- Notes: Rescheduled from Thursday, Oct. 5 to allow teams more time to complete technical checkouts of the spacecraft.
2023 TBD: ULA Vulcan Centaur inaugural flight
- Company / Agency: United Launch Alliance
- Rocket: ULA Vulcan Centaur
- Location: Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Time: TBD
- Trajectory: Northeast
- Weather: TBD
- Landing: None; Vulcan is expendable
- Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
- About: ULA's new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which will replace Atlas V to become the only vehicle in its fleet, will fly its inaugural mission from Cape Canaveral with Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander. The lander, selected by NASA to help advance research ahead of putting two astronauts on the surface sometime before 2030, is expected to touch down on the northern part of the moon.
veryGood! (29)
Related
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Putin calls armed rebellion by Wagner mercenary group a betrayal, vows to defend Russia
- New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signs law to protect doctors providing out-of-state telehealth abortion pill prescriptions
- Jana Kramer Recalls Releasing Years of Shame After Mike Caussin Divorce
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Renewable Energy Groups Push Back Against Rick Perry’s Controversial Grid Study
- 8 Black Lung Indictments Allege Coal Mine Managers Lied About Health Safety
- Not Just CO2: These Climate Pollutants Also Must Be Cut to Keep Global Warming to 1.5 Degrees
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- WWE's Alexa Bliss Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Husband Ryan Cabrera
Ranking
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- Pregnant Chanel Iman Engaged to NFL Star Davon Godchaux
- The CDC is helping states address gun injuries after years of political roadblocks
- SZA Details Decision to Get Brazilian Butt Lift After Plastic Surgery Speculation
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Unchecked Global Warming Could Collapse Whole Ecosystems, Maybe Within 10 Years
- Supreme Court takes up dispute over educational benefits for veterans
- Deaths from xylazine are on the rise. The White House has a new plan to tackle it
Recommendation
Gen. Mark Milley's security detail and security clearance revoked, Pentagon says
On a Melting Planet, More Precisely Tracking the Decline of Ice
16 Father's Day Gift Ideas That Are So Cool, You'll Want to Steal From Dad
For the intersex community, 'Every Body' exists on a spectrum
Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
World Bank Favors Fossil Fuel Projects in Developing Countries, Report Says
Taylor Swift's Reaction to Keke Palmer's Karma Shout-Out Is a Vibe Like That
Unchecked Global Warming Could Collapse Whole Ecosystems, Maybe Within 10 Years